Chapter 13 - The Breach
The heavy wooden front door shuddered under the sudden, violent impact of a heavy boot, the deadbolt rattling loudly in its frame as someone outside threw their full body weight against the threshold.
Chloe screamed softly, stumbling backward against the floral armchair and dropping her phone onto the rug. David reacted instantly, shoving Sarah aside with enough force to send her sprawling onto the sofa, while he lunged forward to brace his shoulder against the door just as a second kick splintered the painted wood around the brass lock.
"Get away from the door!" David roared, his voice echoing with primal fury as he reached out, grabbed the heavy deadbolt lever, and threw it into the locked position, using his entire physical strength to hold the barrier closed.
Through the frosted glass panel of the front door, dark, distorted shadows writhed frantically as two figures scrambled against the porch railing.
"Open the door, Mr. Miller!" a harsh, muffled voice shouted from the other side, completely distinct from the synthesized tone on the landline phone. "This is a final notice! Hand over the box and let Mrs. Miller come out, or we take it by force!"
Sarah scrambled off the sofa, her face drained of all color as she pressed her back against the far wall of the living room, her hands clamped over her mouth to stifle her sobs. "I told you!" she shrieked hysterically, pointing a trembling finger toward the entryway. "They don't negotiate! They don't leave loose ends! You should have taken the deal when you had the chance!"
"Shut up, Sarah!" David yelled back, his muscles straining as another heavy blow struck the exterior frame, sending small splinters of white wood raining down onto the welcome mat.
"Dad! Use my phone! Call 911!" Chloe cried out, dropping to her knees on the rug to scoop up her device, her fingers flying across the touchscreen with frantic speed. "The police are already flagged to our GPS address from the initial alert!"
"Tell them there's an active forced entry in progress!" David instructed, his breathing coming in ragged, painful gasps as he strained to keep the door from giving way under the relentless assault. The reinforced steel hinges were holding, but the wooden jamb was rapidly splintering into kindling.
Suddenly, the battering against the front door stopped. The heavy silence that followed was even more terrifying than the violence. Outside on the porch, footsteps retreated down the steps with sharp, hurried clanks against the concrete.
David didn't move. He kept his shoulder pressed hard against the splintered wood, his eyes locked on the frosted glass panel.
"Dad... they're gone," Chloe whispered, staring at the active emergency call timer ticking on her phone screen. "Police dispatch says units are two minutes away."
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Before David could exhale his pent-up breath, a sharp, metallic clinking sound came from directly beneath the front window, followed immediately by the heavy hiss of a pressurized canister rolling across the exterior patio floor.
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